


Don't You (Forget About Me)

by Katherine04



Category: The Society (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Cats, Coming Out, Deaf Character, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fuck Campbell in the asshole, Gardens & Gardening, Grizz deserves a kitty, Heh heh that's gay, Homophobia, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'm hoping these tags are accurate, Idiots in Love, M/M, Pining, Since this is a wip, WIP, bear puns, i love these two okay, supportive friends, they deserve the world
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-04-23 06:05:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19145062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katherine04/pseuds/Katherine04
Summary: “Aw,” Grizz starts, making fun of his best friend, “you love me! And you didn't even say no homo.”“Pro bromo, no homo. There, happy?” Sam signs, pushing playfully against Grizz’s shoulder with his own.(Or: Grizz goes to college, comes out, and adopts a cat)Oh, and finds love and hope in Sam Eliot





	1. Pro Bromo, No Homo

“If we both stick to the same story, we won’t get caught,” Grizz signs as he whispers, turning to Sam.

“Yeah? What exactly  _ is  _ our story?” Sam speaks, turning around and pointing at the destroyed college dorm laundry room surrounding them, the walls covered in soap. “That some freak monster came in? ‘Cause our RA’s dumb, but he’s not  _ that  _ dumb.”

“Har-de-har-har. I meant something along the lines of ‘we found it like this’. Worst case scenario, we can always just blame Adam.” Grizz looks over at Sam, and matches the other boy’s growing grin.

Damn, he was pretty when he smiled. Grizz remembers high school, and it’s almost as if his crush has tripled. He hadn’t acted on it then , and he isn’t going to act on it now. He’d made a promise to himself. He would come out when he got to college, when he got away from everyone. The former had been checked, Grizz has been enrolled in the University of Maine for a year and a half now, but the latter… Grizz looks over at Sam, again. It had been a fluke that they had gotten accepted to the same school, and an even bigger coincidence that they had been picked as roommates. So no, he wasn’t  _ out  _ out. But it was worth it to keep his friendship with Sam the way it is. And maybe it’s dumb, but he figured that his new out self should be around new people.

“Grizz,” Sam’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts, “seriously. What are we going to do?”

“No, we should actually blame Adam, the homophobic asshole.”

“Uh huh, because conflict is always the way to fix things,” Sam finishes his thought with an eyeroll. “And come on, it was just one time.”

Grizz watches as Sam finishes moving his hands, and replies with his own one worded sign: bullshit.

“Okay, okay, we’ll blame Adam, but you owe me.” Sam concedes, and a smirk plays over his face.

“I’m not going to have to buy you another fucking Zelda game, am I?”

“Zelda’s cool, okay?”

“Whatever you say.” As much as he hates the game, he loves playing it with Sam, so it isn't that bad in the long run.

Grizz hears footsteps and an echoing ‘dude, what the fuck? There’s so much goddamn soap in this hallway’. Sam looks back at him, and his smile falls away, confusion replacing it. 

“What’s up?” he signs, not speaking after Grizz had held a finger up to his lips.

“Carl’s coming.” Grizz signs back.

“Who’s Carl?”

“My god, man.” Grizz says, signing one-handed as he pulls Sam towards a supply closet next to the laundry room with the other. “You do really suck at names. Carl’s our RA. The dumb one.”

‘The whole hallway is goddamn covered in this crap’.  _ Shit _ , Grizz thinks,  _ He’s getting close now. And I’d bet a hundred dollars that was fucking Richard with him, too _ . Grizz rushes himself and Sam into the closet.  _ Heh _ , he ponders,  _ back in the goddamn closet again _ .

Grizz shuts the door behind him and Sam, turning to walk farther into the closet before realizing that in doing so he’s backed Sam against the back shelves. Sam’s breathing becomes heavier, causing their chest’s to bump together, and God, Grizz wants to be anywhere but here while also never wanting to leave this space again. Apparently Sam feels the same way, because his eyes flit down to Grizz’s lips before looking guiltily back up to his eyes. Shit, Grizz can’t catch his breath. Sam is so close, and Grizz is even closer to just closing the finger-width distance between them. He can almost feel Sam’s lips ghosting across his. Sam’s lips look soft, and he can imagine himself leaning in, moving his lips against the smaller mans. Before he knows it, he’s moving in and shutting his eyes.

But no, Sam has blinked and moved away, and the moment is gone, leaving Grizz to collect his thoughts and slow down his heart whilst staring at a bottle of Drano on the shelves. At least he hadn’t come out to his best friend via kissing in a closet. If Sam wouldn’t have killed him, the irony would’ve.

Sam taps Grizz on the shoulder, and as soon as his attention is on him Sam starts signing.

“Are they gone?”

Grizz listens for a moment and hears the unmistakable sounds of two men who have just walked into a laundry room to find it covered in soap. That is, a lot of cursing. He turns his head back to Sam and taps his pointer and middle finger against his thumb twice to communicate ‘no’.

“I have finals in a week and I’m wasting viable studying time stuck in a closet,” Sam signs, running his hands through his hair.

“Dude. One, let’s not forget whose fault it is that we’re even in here, and two, if we were home you would be playing video games, anyway.” Grizz replies, rolling his eyes and smiling when he notices the look of absolute sarcasm on Sam’s face. He’s always had open facial expressions, but it’s crazy just how easy it is to see what he’s thinking.

“Well, you didn’t tell me to stop pouring in the soap, so…”

“I wasn't looking! Who was I to know you’d never done laundry before?”

“Uh, my best friend, that’s who.”

“Aw,” Grizz starts, making fun of his best friend, “you  _ love  _ me! And you didn't even say no homo.”

“Pro bromo, no homo. There, happy?” Sam signs, pushing playfully against Grizz’s shoulder with his own.

“Man, you sound just like Clark or Jason back from high school,” Grizz says, cupping a sweatshirt covered hand against his mouth once he’s finished signing to cover his laughter. “The next thing I know I’ll come back from studying and you’ll be having a kegger.”

“You got a problem with me being the party animal I was born as?” Sam asks, jumping around for a second, arms raised over his head, dancing to unheard music.

Grizz looks at the boy - no - man (they had celebrated Sam’s 20 th birthday last week, huddled up on the couch together binge watching Friends and splitting a carton of salted caramel ice cream), in front of him. Sam’s shirt rides up as he dances, and the smile he has is so carefree. Sam must notice him staring, because as soon as Grizz mouths ‘no’ Sam is pulling him into a dance.

It’s crazy, and erratic, and creates a fairytale feel as the bubbles that had swept into the closet from the hallway swirl up and around the pair of them as they kick their legs in crazy directions. They only stop dancing when Sam accidentally elbows an ugly yellow vase, sending it to a horrible demise among the bubble covered floor. The sharp cracking sound causes Grizz to become silent, and the vibrations that hit the ground near Sam’s feet cause him to stop his movements, as well.

“Shit,” Sam signs, and Grizz nods his head in agreement.

Grizz raises a finger to his own lips as he hears Carl and Maybe-Richard near their closet door.  

He counts his breathes as he listens to the people outside. In,  _ did you hear something? _ , out. In,  _ yeah, I think it came from near here _ , out. In,  _ ugh, I don't wanna deal with this shit _ , out. In,  _ then let’s bloody not  _ (Grizz’s suspicions are confirmed. Richard is the only person he knows at UMaine who’s british), out. In,  _ we can just blame it on some random bugger _ , out. His muscles relax as Grizz hears receding footsteps.

“They’re leaving,” Grizz hurriedly signs to Sam as he puts his ear against the door, careful not to open it until he can no longer hear the RA and his friend chatter.

“Cool,” Sam speaks as he walks through the door Grizz opens for him.

They walk out to see that the washing machine is apparently still dispensing bubbles. The foam has risen so that it’s hitting their shins as they walk through the laundry room to get to the hallway.

To Grizz’s surprise, the soap has reached into the hallway, making the floor so slippery that his world slips out from under him. One moment, Grizz is standing, leaning against a wall as he surveys the destruction that Sam had caused, the next, he’s on his ass, the wind kicked out of him.

Sam’s hand reaches down, and once Grizz’s picked up he sees a face smiling back at him. A laugh is kicked out of Sam. It catches until they’re both on their knees on the floor, the suds just barely reaching their navel. The only thing supporting them from falling on their faces is the hands gripping the other’s shoulder. 

“I-I can’t believe you did this,” Grizz exclaims, laughter clouding his words.

“What?” Sam signs.

“Oh, sorry. I said that I couldn’t believe you did this.” Grizz says, signing as he goes this time.

“Uh, excuse you,” Sam starts, a smirk dancing on his face. “ _ My _ fault? You’re the one who said that I should pour as much soap as I needed.”

“I meant, like, a scoop! Not the whole fucking box,” Grizz signs, the memory of Sam’s flabbergasted face when he saw the soap spilling out of the machine causes him to fall back onto the floor with laughter.

“Well, how was I supposed to know that?” Sam signs one handed as he uses the other to push himself up onto his feet, “Now come on, if I remember right, you said something about a Zelda game?”

“Huh. Well,  _ I  _ remember you saying something about ‘wasting viable studying time’,” Grizz moves his hands with a smile, letting out a chuckle when Sam flips him off.

“Race you to Gamestop?” Sam asks, already fast-walking towards the parking lot. “Winner has to buy dinner.”

“Fuck yeah,” Grizz replies. He’s unable to resist a challenge almost as much as he’s unable to resist the man in front of him. 

His feelings are going to make their junior year of college suck, he can tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! I'm hoping I'll post once a week, but finals are coming up so we'll see what happens.
> 
> Also, this ship makes me so goddamn happy you don't even know.
> 
> Comments help me grow!


	2. A Library, a Garden, and Sam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> heh you gay
> 
>  
> 
> ft. a silly teacup my mom gave me last year for my birthday

“No, no, no. I wouldn’t want to become immortal. Who would be able to live with themselves for that long?” Grizz replies to Sam’s question one-handed, furiously moving his thumb over the xbox controller with the other.

They play this game often, bouncing questions back and forth. They start the game assuming they know everything about each other, and they finish knowing that Grizz’s first kiss was in the second grade, and that Sam had a fish named Greg.

They learn darker things about each other, too. Such as how bad the years with Campbell had been for Sam, stuck in the same house as a diagnosed psychopath, how having a brother who didn't accept his sexuality was incredibly disheartening. As well as how Grizz was lost throughout most of his high school years. Stuck somewhere between book worm and football jock, he didn't have a friend group, not really. Too nerdy to be close to the athletes, too good at throwing a ball to be a part of the history club.

Those games of Questionnaire end with hot cups of tea, The Breakfast Club, and leaning into the other for support.

Today though, today is just an easy-going game played with half an ear while Grizz focuses wholeheartedly on beating Sam in Fortnite.

“My turn,” Grizz thinks of a question, signing the first thing that pops into his mind, “when did you know you were gay?”

He goes back to playing the game, stopping and turning toward Sam when Grizz realizes that he hasn’t replied yet. Sam’s eyebrows are raised in a sort of ‘really?’ look.

“Sorry, dude.” Grizz says with a wince, “wasn’t thinking.”

“No, no, it’s okay. Just wasn't expecting a personal question. But, I’ll tell you. Just don't laugh, okay?”

“Never,” and with that, Grizz pauses the game and puts down his controller, turning his full attention to his best friend.

“Okay, so,” Sam starts, sitting cross-legged on the couch, turning his body to face towards Grizz while his hands start flying through the air, “Have you seen Pocahontas?”

“The disney one?”

“Uh huh. Well, I had a big crush on this character named Thomas. And get ready for this, I thought that I was fascinated because of the animation. Like, I legitimately tried to explain away my crush on a male character by saying ‘oh yeah, this doesn’t mean I’m gay, it just means I’m an artist in the making’,” Sam paueses his hand movements to look at Grizz, making sure he understands what he’s signing. “Spoiler alert: I’m not.”

Grizz lets out a surprised laugh, “Oh, don’t say that! Your stick figures are stunning.”

The next thing Sam motions isn’t an actual sign at all, instead he points his middle finger straight up and smiles.

“Well, when did you know you were into girls? What goes around comes around.” Sam jokes when he notices a look on Grizz’s face that Sam most likely takes as slight discomfort and (hopefully) not  _ Oh Lord Jesus what the fuck am I going to say _ .

_ Shit _ , Grizz thinks,  _ do I lie? Do I just come out (heh) and say it? _

It’s a conundrum. Grizz knows that Sam would never judge him because 1) he himself is gay, and 2) Sam’s just an awesome guy. He remembers the promise that he’d made himself. The saying that he had repeated day in, day out of high school was ‘just get to college. New friends, new school, new open sexuality’. It was too dangerous (at least in his mom’s mind) to come out in middle of nowhere Connecticut. But now…

All of a sudden, Grizz realizes that the only reason he hasn't come out yet is his own cowardice. He knows who he is, he knows he’ll be accepted, the only thing that is holding him back from saying it is that he’s worried that Sam will be upset he didn't tell him sooner. And that was a stupid reason, because of number two: Sam’s just an awesome guy.

So Grizz takes a deep breath and says it.

_ Come on, dude, just say it. _

He glances at Sam, who’s looking a little worried, and it’s then that he realizes that he hasn't spoken in roughly forty seconds and the silence has turned awkward. Sam’s face is calming though, so he admires the man’s red curls and cheeks dusted by freckles. Grizz wonders just how far down those freckles go…

And  _ wow _ that is not a place to go when he's about to come out.

Shit. He’s about to come out. Fuck.

“Grizz, you okay?”

He might have whiplash from how quickly he looks up from his hands and back to Sam’s face.

“Yeah, yeah, just thinking,” Grizz says, rubbing the back of his neck and letting out a nervous chuckle. “Uh, my, um, my first crush was Luke.”

“What? You’re speaking too fast.”

“Oh. Sorry. I said, my first crush was on Luke. In the sixth grade.”

“Oh.” Sam says, quickly trying to hide his look of shock. “Cool.”

They go back to playing. Words are at the tip of Grizz’s tongue, ready to be said. Thoughts of ‘that’s it?’, ‘man, this is weird’, and ‘ _ fuck _ ’ race through his head. The silence between them is awkward, and Grizz mentally kicks himself. He fucked it all up. 

“Sor-” Grizz starts at the same time Sam says “Tha-”

They look at each other and smile, and Grizz thinks that maybe, just maybe, he might not have messed the one constant good thing in his life.

“You go first,” Grizz says.

“I just wanted to say thanks. You know, for feeling comfortable enough to come out to me.”

Grizz smiles and responds, “I don’t think there will be a time when I’m not comfortable around you.”

“I’m glad.” Sam finishes with a smile, before scrunching up his nose in a way that Grizz absolutely does  _ not _ find adorable. “Wait, what were you gonna say?”

“Nothing. Just that I’m happy to be your best friend.”

“And you say  _ I’m _ the pathetic one.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

And with that, Sam deploys a blue shell, absolutely decimating Grizz’s chances at winning Mario kart as well as the conversation they’d been having.

Saturday mornings are Grizz’s favorite. He believes that nothing can match waking up and realizing that you have nothing to do, no obligations. He has a library, a garden, and Sam, and that’s all he needs (and wants) out of a Saturday.

Grizz is in the garden on top of their dorm (something Grizz had started, actually) when Sam comes to find him. The garden is his favorite place to be. There’s something calming about the repetitiveness of pulling out weeds and watering plants. Powerful, even. 

He’s checking in on the pumpkins for Halloween when he’s interrupted by Sam tapping at his shoulder.

“Hey, man! What the fuck are you doing up this early? It’s not even 10.” Grizz says with a smile.

“Look, just because I’m not a morning person-”

“I think you mean ‘unable to survive before 11 AM without coffee’.”

“-doesn't mean I can’t bring you chamomile tea. But if you’re going to be all high and mighty I guess I can drink it myself .” Sam signs one-handed bringing the other holding Grizz’s favorite mug out from behind his back.

Sam had gotten the cup for him on his 19 th birthday, almost a year ago. Grizz had smiled and laughed when he saw the hand painted ceramic mug. It was a bear, arms reaching out and mouth open as if to scare any passersby. On the bear’s chest read the words ‘danger, I’m a hugger’ painted in defined red lettering.

“I offer my deepest condolences.” Grizz stands up, giving the pumpkins one last glance, checking for any wilting leaves. He walks over to Sam, who, to his surprise, reaches up and holds the mug above Grizz’s head.

Sam is wearing the pajamas that Grizz gave him for Christmas, faded blue from wear with little yellow rubber ducks swimming across the bottoms.

“I don’t know… your face doesn't seem that honest. Once more with feeling,” Sam says and signs. He’s on his tip-toes now, desperately trying to keep the tea out of Grizz’s reach. One of Sam’s eyebrows is raised, which Grizz does not think is one of the most endearing things he’s ever seen.

“Ugh. Okay,” Grizz says, exaggerating a frown, pinching his eyebrows together, and scrunching his nose. “I’m  _ sorry _ .”

“Cute,” Sam hands him his tea and ruffles Grizz’s hair.

_ Who gave him the right to be so enchanting _ , Grizz thinks.  _ Dear God do I love Saturday mornings with this dork _ .

“What are you working on?” He signs as he surveys the garden.

“Just garden stuff. What  _ are _ you doing up this early? You brought me chamomile tea, so just tell me. What can I do for you?” He makes as if he’s a waiter and bends straight at the waist before standing up again.

The last time Sam had made him tea voluntarily before noon had also coincidentally been the day that Sam had gotten Grizz to take him to Comic Con.

(In exchange, though, they went to Shakespeare in the park the month after. The comedies were Grizz’s favorite, and Sam had let himself be dragged from play to play, even surprising Grizz with backstage passes to talk to the actors. That day is still one of his all-time favorites). 

“Why would you ever think that  _ I  _ would manipulate  _ you _ ?” Sam says, mocking a gasp at the end.

Grizz just cocks an eyebrow.

“Ok. So maybe I am. But… Just remember that I brought you tea.”

Sam looks at him and smiles, and although Grizz tries not to, his face matches it.

“I may or may not have told Allie that I have a boyfriend,” he finishes moving his hands with a wince. 

“But, you don’t, yeah?” Grizz hesitated, his heart dropping to his stomach.

“No.”

“Then, why?”

“Because,” Sam looks down at his shoes and then back up, “I don’t know. Because I wanted it to be true. I wanted to have something to brag about, I guess.”

“Any man would be lucky to have you,”  _ I would be lucky to have you _ is what Grizz doesn't say.

“Yeah, well,” Sam let’s the end of the sentence hang in the air.

“Just tell her you guys broke up or something.”

“Yeah, uh, that’s part of the problem. I might have told her last night over FaceTime, and she might’ve told Becca, who might’ve told Kelly, who might’ve told Elle. Well, basically, all of West Ham knows.”

Sam looks nervous. Almost as nervous as he had seemed when opening up about the horrors that Campbell had inflicted on him.

“Wait… Campbell doesn’t know, right?”

“No, I don’t think so. I hope he doesn't.”

Sam looks more nervous than he did when he started and Grizz mentally kicks himself.

“Hey, hey. Man, you don’t gotta worry. It’s not like their opinion matters anyway. And, Sam, you will always,  _ always _ , have me.”

“Since you’ve said that,” Sam smirks at Grizz, but the wrinkle between his eyebrows gives his fear away, “I was wondering if you would be my date to Helena and Elle’s wedding.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? I mean, you don't have to, if you don't want to.”

Grizz takes a deep breath and considers his options. Being forced to pretend to be in love to be with someone who Grizz already is (maybe, he’s not sure). Or leaving Sam, his best friend, to face the wedding alone and having to go through the shame of admitting to a lie.

The answer is obvious.

“You made me tea. Of course, I’ll be your date.”

One of Sam’s special smiles, smiles he seemingly reserves for only Grizz, pops onto his face. It’s luminescent, pulling Grizz into his orbit. Sam is his sun, his moon, his stars, and he knows he made the right choice. Sam was like a black hole. No matter how hard Grizz tried, he knew resistance was futile.

And, oh, how he loves being pulled in. 

“Thank you. It’s this weekend.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, I was kinda banking on you saying yes.”

“Well, you were right.” Grizz takes a sip of his tea and salutes Sam.

“What are you working on?” Sam moves next to Grizz, surveying the pumpkins below.

“Checking for any discoloration of the leaves. It can mean that there’s a fungus in the plant, and I know how much pumpkin pie means to you on Halloween.”

“Yeah? Well, I know how much pumpkin seeds mean to you, so…”

“Actually, while you’re up here, could you help me weed? The dandelions are growing and I don't want their roots taking all the water.”

Sam sits down next to him, shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee, radiating warmth through his pajamas, and starts weeding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up next week or sooner! Thank you guys SO (so) much for all the love you've given this.
> 
> I didn't feel very good about this chapter but lemme know what y'all think
> 
> Also... Fake Dating Trope and Helena/Elle dropped itself in there so gonna add those to the tags :P  
> Comments and Kudos appreciated. Love y'all! Have a nice rest of your day.
> 
> Edit 6/16/19 : Thank you for all the comments alerting me about what's wrong! Fixed the formatting (hopefully). 
> 
> Also... my insta is kg_writes_things if you want some updates on my writing <3


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